An Open Letter to Parkwood Residents

The Problem with the Proposed Pot Plant Planned for Parkwood

Dear Fellow Parkwood Resident,

A marijuana manufacturing facility (i.e. a “Pot Plant”) is being proposed on McNulty Road at the end of our new Poquessing Creek Trail which is a five minute walk from Dunks Ferry Road, through Junod Playground and the soccer and baseball fields, to the proposed Pot Plant’s front door on McNulty Road. Because of the Poquessing Creek Trail this Pot Plant is essentially in our backyards and is within 1,000 feet of our playground, soccer and baseball fields, St. Anselm school and church and our homes.

The problem with this rests on just two assumptions; (1) marijuana will soon become fully legal in Pennsylvania and (2) business people want to make as much money as possible. If you agree with these two assumptions then in the next few years we could realistically have a pot store and smoking lounge, and all of the obvious problems that would bring, in our neighborhood. Why? Because the minute pot becomes legal in Pennsylvania whatever business person or corporation owns the Pot Plant at that time will want to continue to make as much money as they can and will be able to easily carve out or add a few thousand square feet for a pot retail store and smoking lounge to directly sell their freshly grown pot and make more money. Even if pot is sold in other stores then, they will be able draw many people from miles away since they’ll be able to market themselves as having the freshest pot in the area because they grow it in the back! Maybe they’ll even draw people by offering tours of the pot farm. The perfect example of what this retail store and smoking lounge would be like is Holt’s Cigars on Townsend Road which is a warehouse/distribution building that just has a small portion in the front for people to come and buy and smoke their products.

To support the two assumptions it’s obvious that the legalization of marijuana is a nationwide trend and just this week in Pennsylvania there was this news story in PhillyMag.com titled, “Pa. Auditor General: State Should Legalize Marijuana”. It’s also obvious that business people want to make as much money as possible and the person proposing this Pot Plant in Parkwood, Lindy Snider, has said, “It’s a solid business decision” and “The revenue potential for the industry is boundless”.

The whole point of this letter to you is to see how this is a problem for us because it’s way too close to home and it brings the high potential of drug users directly into our neighborhood some day in the near future. This letter is not about whether marijuana should be legal or the efficacy of medical marijuana or even whether the site should be developed. The problem is with that particular use on that particular site (although any site along McNulty Road poses the same potential problems) particularly when there are hundreds of other more rural available locations which are not in established residential neighborhoods.

The above is the primary problem with this proposed Parkwood Pot Plant however it’s hard to imagine that, even though the owner will swear that their security is strong, crime won’t be a problem. From people trying to break in (and most likely using the “backdoor” which is through our woods and soccer fields, baseball fields and playground) to people trying to sell to minors along the Poquessing Creek Trail (where they could meet at the nice bridge for the exchange) – this Trial will then be called the “Parkwood Pot Path”. See this webpage for a running list of all the crime that’s occurring at “secure”, state-sponsored pot farms. https://nopotplant.org/crime-all-around-us/ .

If you see the potential problem and recognize that NOW is the time to oppose this use on that site since once the building is built it will be too hard to change things then, then please come to the next Parkwood Civic Assoc. meeting this Wednesday, March 15th and share this information with your neighbors and write to our politicians (does anyone know Martina White?). Share and discuss on Facebook and other social media.